Process for the production of industrial tubes or section bars from metal and related apparatus

ABSTRACT

A process for the production of industrial tubes or section bars from metal, such as copper, copper alloys, special brasses, cupronickel or aluminum bronzes, comprises the following steps: melting the metal material with possible compatible working scraps; obtaining a preform from a casting; roll milling and/or drawing said preform to reduce its section; drawing with one or more concatenated intervention said roll-milled and/or drawn preform, in order to further reduce its section up to the size desired; straightening and possibly submitting to thermal and/or degreasing treatment the dimensionally finished product, and cutting the finished product to measure.

[0001] The present invention relates to a process for the production of industrial tubes or section bars from metal and the apparatus employed for said production

[0002] More particularly, the present invention relates to a process of continuous casting to obtain metal tubes and section bars for industrial use, especially intended for heat exchange, i.e., usable for heat exchangers or desalting plants and in the field of chemical and petrol-chemical plants.

[0003] The materials suitable for the production of said metal tubes and section bars include copper and alloys thereof, cupronickel, special brasses, aluminum bronze, and the like.

[0004] As is known, these materials have several characteristics that render them suitable for the purpose, such as, for instance, a hitch electric and thermal conductivity, a good corrosion resistance and an excellent hot and cold workability.

[0005] In the production of these tubes and section bars reference is made to specific directives that define the chemical composition and the tolerances of the material; said norms are, for instance, those known by the initials ASTM B111, DIN 1785, UNI 6785, AFNOR NFA 51.102

[0006] Such metal tubes and section bars for industrial use are conventionally obtained by means of a process that comprises many operating steps and that, besides causing the process to be a long, laborious and not easily realizable one, markedly affect the cost of the finished product.

[0007] The known processes, in fact, comprise, starting from the classification of raw materials and scraps, a first step of melting the material in induction electric ovens, with preparatory treatments such as titration and alligation. Afterwards, from the casting molten material, billets are obtained, i.e. half-finished cylindrical products having a diameter (generally comprised between 80 and 350 mm. Billets are submitted to cutting and lumping operations, to be then transferred, in right size, on drawing presses, on prior heating to a temperature comprised between 700 an 1100° C. By means of said presses preforms are obtained having a tubular shape or other shapes, which are submitted to dimension and quality controls in general, and conveyed afterwards to a rolling mill and/or die to cold-reduce theirs section.

[0008] This working step causes approximately a 80% reduction in the body sections, whose diameter and thickness elongate and reduce. Sometimes, in the presence of particular alloys to be worked, intermediate thermal treatments are required, to make the cold working of the preforms easier. Subsequent drawing operations produce the almost finished product, whose section is further reduced The actual finishing comprises the cutting of the pieces, a possible straightening thereof, as well as controls and examinations, on prior degreasing or cleaning,

[0009] This obviously long and laborious process requires the use of many specific materials and generates a high percentage of wastes and scraps in the various steps, both during the melting which causes the realization of the billets, and during hot drawing, and also afterwards. In the general economy of the production cycle, the veneration of scraps causes in the whole a total yield ratio equal to about 2:1.

[0010] Besides, also the costs of the plants, referred to the cast ovens and the drawing presses are far from being negligible, as they contribute to increasing the production cost of the product. Object of the present invention is to obviate the above drawbacks.

[0011] More particularly, object of the present invention is to provide a process for the realization of metal tubes or section bars for industrial use to be employed as heat exchangers, desalting plants or chemical and petrochemical plants, that comprises a limited number of operating steps and assures a finished product provided with all the requirements needed with respect to precision, reliability and metallographic structure.

[0012] A further object of the invention is to provide a process as defined above such as to involve, for its implementation, only limited requirements from the production plants.

[0013] A further object of the invention is to provide users with a process for the realization of metal tubes and section bars able to substantially reduce non only the length of the production plant, but also the amount of scraps generated

[0014] According to the present invention, these and still other objects, which will become apparent thanks to the following description, are achieved by a process for the production of tubes or section bars from metal, that comprises the following operating steps:

[0015] melting metal with possible compatible working scraps,

[0016] obtaining a preform from the molten metal,

[0017] roll milling and/or drawing said preform to reduce the section thereof,

[0018] drawing by means of one or more concatenated interventions the same preform up to the size desired,

[0019] strengthening and possibly submitting to thermal and/or degreasing treatments the dimensionally finished product, and

[0020] cutting to measure the finished product.

[0021] The preform may have any shape, but the tubular shape is preferred.

[0022] The apparatus for the realization of the process, which is also an object of the invention, comprises a crucible and an ingot mold provided with axial and radial holes, communicating with each other, to feed the molten metal coming from the crucible. Preferably, the latter has in the inside a central chamber pressurized preferably with inert gases, in order to keep the pressure of the zone feeding the ingot mold constant

[0023] The operating steps of the process of the present invention as well as the constructive and functional characteristics of the related apparatus will be better understood thanks to the following description, wherein reference is made to the attached drawings that show a preferred non limiting embodiment of said, apparatus, and wherein:

[0024]FIG. 1 shows a partial schematic views of the plant and the apparatus for the realization of metal tubes and section bars for industrial use according to the process of the present invention,

[0025]FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of a partial longitudinal section of the same apparatus constituted of an ingot mold,

[0026]FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of cross-section of the preceding figure.

[0027] According to the invention, the process for the realization of tubes or section bars from metal comprises several working, step, described in detail in the follow according to a preferred non critical sequence

[0028] The first one of said steps consists in loading the metal material, for instance metal or alloys thereof and the possible scraps compatible with the alloy, in the solid state, in an electric oven to realize their melting.

[0029] The melting temperature depends on the type of raw materials and scraps employed. Generally, the melting temperature is comprised between 900 and 1350° C. If a material like cupronickel 90/10 should be used, the melting temperature ranges from 1250 to 1350° C.

[0030] The so obtained liquid state alloy is transferred by known means, for instance through channels, into a continuous casting system associated to the apparatus, as will be said in the following.

[0031] Said apparatus essentially comprises a specific ingot mold by means of which a hollow preform is obtained. Said hollow preform may have any shape and size, preferably, it has a tubular shape, having by way of example a diameter comprised between 70 and 80 mm and a thickness comprised between 5 and 10 mm. The hollow preform is then conveyed to the further cold working steps on rolling mills and draw-benches, to progressively reduce the section of the same. During the drawing, there is obtained a reduction in the section of the preform of about 80%, while with the further drawing operation or operations, concatenated with each other, the section further reduces until a dimensionally finished product is obtained

[0032] The drawing operation is preferably carried out with cold draw-benches of the type known as pilgrim mill, or of the planetary type or the like.

[0033] The rolling mill operation or operations are preferably carried out on draw-benches rectilinear or of the combined type or the bull-block type. All these types of rolling mills and draw-benches are well known per se.

[0034] Between the rolling mill process and the drawing process steps, intermediate thermal treatment may be carried out, such as for instance annealing, especially in the presence of special alloys, such as for instance special brasses and cupronickels; also during the drawing steps there may be carried out intermediate annealing processes of the preform.

[0035] The intermediate thermal treatments are carried out in annealing walking-beam or static ovens of a known type at a temperature that may range, for instance, between 400 and 800° C. Such temperature of thermal treatment is comprised between 650 and 750° C. in the case of 90/10 cupronickel material.

[0036] The preform which in this step has its final shape of metal tube or section bar, is then submitted to the conventional finishing operations, i.e. cutting to measure on prior straightening, possible degreasing and controls either individual or by sample taken.

[0037] The preform obtained Faith the process of the present invention has a visual aspect and a metallographic structure that are characteristic of said process and different from a conventional hot-drawing. The preform, in fact, has the typical appearance of a material obtained from continuous casting showing, for instance, ring shadings transversal with respect to the axis, equidistant and parallel to each other, both across the external surface and the internal one. As concerns the difference in the metallographic structure, the preform has a typically dentitric structure, therefore different from the one of a drawn product The process described reduces substantially the complexity and the length of the production cycle, as the starting base is constituted of a preform obtained through a continuous casting process. In fact, the process of the present invention excludes several working steps, being unnecessary to obtain a billet wherefrom the preform is obtained with draw-presses. There is therefore reduced by 50% the formation of scraps, passing to a 1.5.1 total yield ratio both during the melting that give rises to the billet and during the hot-drawing of the same. The high production costs, such as for instance those due to energy, labor and consumption in general are reduced by an amount ranging from 20% to 40%, according to the size of the finished product. According to a preferred embodiment, the step of extraction of the product from the apparatus or ingot mold is realized with a two-direction movement, starting from the conventional operation known as “go and stop”. According to the latter, the metal tube or section bar is extracted alternating traction steps with short dwells, to prevent breakaways in the product. To further prevent the occurrence of breakaways, which produce non-homogeneous tubes or section bars, a further “go and stop” extraction step is preferably interpolated in the process of the present invention. Such movement causes the product extracted from the ingot mold and still not entirely consolidated to make a minimum backward movement, to compact said product and to exclude therefore the risk of breakaways.

[0038] The overall extraction movement includes therefore a traditional traction step, a dwell step and a further backward movement step, namely directed towards the direction contrary to the extraction traction. Said steps may possibly take place according to a different sequence, i.e. for instance a backwards movement immediately after the traction, before the dwell, or according to a combination of both systems.

[0039] In this way, the still not solidified tube or artifact is caused to become compacted and homogeneous.

[0040] According to a further preferred non critical embodiment, the product extracted from the ingot mold is submitted to a calibration process, that ensures the compactness of the metallographic structure. Such calibration includes an in line hot milling, carried out through a conventional flashing inductor and with the intervention of a motor-driven ram. This step is preferably followed by a rapid cooling, preferably with water.

[0041] The apparatus, especially suitable for carrying out the process of the present invention, which is also a part of the present invention, comprises an ingot mold indicated by 10 in FIG. 2, formed by an external body or envelope 12 and a coaxial pin 14 from graphite or other suitable materials. Said ingot mold 10 is provided with conventional axial holes 16 for the feeding of the molten metal, fed by a crucible 18, schematized in FIG. 1, obtained from refractory material, graphite or masonry.

[0042] Holes 16 are formed on a support or bridge 20 that supports pin 14 In addition to said holes 16, the ingot mold 10 is advantageously provided with further radial feeding holes 22 for instance in number of 4. arranged at 90°, formed on the external body 12 downstream of bridge 20. Holes 22, by way of example inclined, communicate with holes 16 and allow to feed the ingot mold 10 with an additional amount of molten metal that mixes suitably and remains at the stable temperature required to form the preform.

[0043] The homogenization of the metal, thanks to the additional feeding through holes 22, is of basic importance in those cases, as is the present one, of alloys whose components have different melting points and physical-chemical characteristics.

[0044] According to a further and advantageous characteristic, the apparatus of the present invention keeps constant the weight generated by the metallostatic load in the feeding zone of the ingot mold 10, also during the variations in the liquid that take place in crucible 18. For this purpose, crucible 18 is provided with a bell 26 inserted centrally in said crucible and tied to it with known means. The upper front 28 of said bell 26 is constituted of a tight-lid. To said lid 28 a tube or duct 40 is connected through which there is for instance inserted a neutral gas in bell 26. Said bell 26 forms, in the inside of crucible 18, a central chamber 30, wherein a pressure preferably comprised between 0 and 2 bar is applied to the free surface of the molten metal.

[0045] In FIG. 1 the level of molten metal existing in the inside respectively the outside of the central chamber 30 are indicated by L1 and L2. By means of such pressure with inert gas, the liquid state metal is fed in a constant and homogeneous manner to the ingot mold 10 through holes 16, 22 of the same, and is not affected by the level variations.

[0046] The apparatus of the present invention also comprises cold rolling mills and draw-benches to reduce progressively the section of the preform up to the size desired. During the drawing step or between a rolling mill step and a drawing step, the preform may be submitted to thermal treatments, such as for instance annealing. The so obtained section bar may be submitted to straightening, degreasing treatments and the like, and then cut to measure.

[0047] As can be understood from the above description, the advantages achieved by the invention are evident

[0048] With the process for the realization of metal tubes or section bars of the present invention, the length and complexity of the production cycle reduce substantially, being possible to obtain the preform from melting instead of drawing. In the same way the working scraps and plant requirements reduce to a substantial extent, no casting being needed to obtain the billets and the draw-press.

[0049] While the present invention has been described above with reference to an embodiment of the same, solely reported by way of non limiting example, various modifications and changes will be evident to those skilled in the art, in the light of the above description. Therefore, the present invention encompasses all the modifications and variants that fall within the spirit and scope of the following claims. 

1. A process for the production of tubes or section bars for industrial use from a copper alloy, comprising the steps of: loading the copper alloy, optionally in mixture with scraps thereof, into an electric oven; melting the copper alloy at a temperature comprised between 900 to 1320° C.; continuous casting the molten copper alloy to obtain a preform having a hollow tubular shape having a diameter comprised between 70 and 80 mm and a thickness comprised between 5 to 10 mm; cold roll milling and/or drawing said preform to reduce its section; further cold drawing said roll-milled and/or drawn preform in order to further reduce its section to obtain a tube or section bar having the final shape and size desired; straightening and optionally submitting to thermal and/or degreasing treatment(s) the dimensionally finished tube or section bar, and cutting the tube or section bar to measure.
 2. The process according to claim 1, characterised in that a intermediate thermal treatment is carried out between the cold roll milling step and the further cold drawing step and/or during the cold drawing steps.
 3. The process according to claim 2, characterised in that the intermediate thermal treatment(s) is cried out at a temperature comprised between 400 and 800° C.
 4. The process according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterised in that the hollow tubular preform is obtained by continuous casting of the molten copper alloy by means of a plurality of steps comprising a traction step, a dwell step and a further step of partial backwards movement in a direction contrary to the traction direction.
 5. The process according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterised in that the hollow tubular preform obtained by casting is submitted to a calibration process comprising an in-line hot milling and a subsequent quick cooling.
 6. The process according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterised in that the copper alloy is selected from cupronickel, brasses and aluminium bronze.
 7. The process according to claim 6, characterised in that, when the copper alloy is 90/10 cupronickel alloy, the melting temperature is comprised between 1250 and 1350° C. and the intermediate thermal treatment(s) is carried out at a temperature comprised between 650 and 750° C.
 8. An apparatus for continuous casting the molten copper alloy to obtain the hollow tubular preform, said apparatus comprising a crucible (18) and a ingot mold (10) connected to said crucible (18), characterised in that said ingot mold (10) comprises an external body (12); a pin (14) coaxial and internal to said body (12); a bridge (20) supporting said pin (14); a plurality of axial feeding holes (16) formed on said bridge (20) and feeding the molten metal from the crucible (18), and at least one radial feeding hole (22) communicating with one of said axial holes (16) and feeding an additional amount of said molten metal from the crucible (18) to one of said axial feeding holes (16).
 9. The apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that the at least one radial hole (22) is performed on the external body (12) of the ingot mold (10) downstream of the bridge (20).
 10. The apparatus according to claim 8 or 9, characterised in that the internal pin (14) and the crucible (18) are made from refractory material, graphite or masonry.
 11. The apparatus according to anyone of the preceding claims from 8 to 10, characterized in that the feeding radial holes (22) are four and arranged at 90°
 12. The apparatus according to anyone of the preceding claims from 8 to 11, characterised in that the feeding radial holes (22) are inclined.
 13. The apparatus according to anyone of the preceding claims from 8 to 12, characterised in that the crucible (18) is provided in its central part with a bell (26) forming a chamber (30); the upper front (28) of said bell (26) being constituted of a tight-lid and it is connected to a tube or duct (40) feeding inert gas to said chamber (30).
 14. The apparatus according to claim 13, characterised in that the pressure of the inert gas in the chamber (30) on the free surface of the molten metal is comprised between 0 and 2 bar. 